Hands All Over
by Quintessential Dreams
Summary: Anthony is doing horribly in Charms and asks Terry to tutor him.


_**Hands All Over**_

**I am not the rightful owner of the Harry Potter Franchise. That belongs to all those involved in the books, movies, videogames, etc.**

**This is a second response to the Unrelated Title Competition at HPFC… still not sure which one I want to enter.**

"Wingardum Levosa." The words were still foreign on his lips. "Wingardum Levosa." He tried again and the piece of parchment stayed right where it wasn't supposed to be. His concentration was faltering and he was beginning to get anxious. "Wingardum Levosa!" He all but shouted, the movements of his wand swishing and flicking just like he had been taught. Still the thin and weightless parchment mocked him. "Wingardum—"

"Hi Anthony."

Looking up, Anthony saw fellow classmate and Ravenclaw Terry Boot. Terry was also his friend. "Hi." He greeted lamely.

Terry sat down at the table Anthony currently resided in the Library. "Whatcha doing?" He asked, smile brightly lit on his face.

"Oh, I'm um… I'm studying for the end of the year exams." Anthony could feel the heat rising on his neck and surely he would fine it red with a blush. "What are you doing in the library? I thought you were going for a walk with Lisa?"

Terry shrugged. "She's sweet and all, but exams are coming up and I do need to study as well." Terry gave Anthony a bright smile. "Mind if I study with you, Tony?"

Anthony nodded and went back to his Charms book.

"What are you studying right now?" Anthony could practically feel Terry's eyes on him but didn't look up. Should he ask? The worst that would happen is that Terry would tell him 'no'; tell him to just 'screw off'. "Tony?" Terry poked him in the shoulder which caused Anthony to look up. "I asked what you were studying right now."

"Will you tutor me in Charms?" That wasn't what his brain told his lips to say. It wasn't in the slightest. "I mean, I'm studying for the Charms Exam." He tried to cover up lamely. As Terry stared at Anthony, so many things began whizzing around in his brain. Terry could joke with him; make fun of him; even tell him that doing terribly in charms meant that he wasn't cut out for Ravenclaw house. Surely the Sorting Hat had made a terrible mistake back in the beginning of the year because Anthony just wasn't smart enough for Ravenclaw. Instead, what he heard was:

"Sure. I don't mind helping you out." Anthony just stared at him as he if were kidding. "What charms are you having difficulty with?" Those soft brown eyes looked at Anthony without any sort of judgement. There was neither malice nor humour in them.

"Um… I can't get the parchment to levitate." Anthony explained, a dumbfounded expression making its way onto his features.

"I can help you there. You know the swish and flick motion." Anthony watched entranced as Terry began going through the steps in order to make the parchment float in the air. His eyes watched Terry's lips move as he spoke, not really hearing him at all. "…and lastly you need to—"

"Why help me?"

Terry gave Anthony a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm obviously not smart enough for Ravenclaw. Why are you helping me rather than making fun of me?" Anthony blushed, the rosy colour gracing over the bridge of his nose.

"Tony, you made it into Ravenclaw for a reason. The Sorting Hat doesn't make decisions on a whim. It takes your opinion as well as what it can see in your head into consideration. Where did you want to go?"

"My mum was in Ravenclaw…"

"True, but where did you want to go? Both of my parents were Hufflepuffs… and yet I'm in Ravenclaw because I took my studies seriously. Tony, it has nothing to do with how smart you are. Well, that's not entirely true, you have to be smart, but you also have to want to do your best, to try and be as great as you can be." Terry gave Anthony another grand smile before he went back to explaining how to make the parchment float. "Think you got it?"

Anthony nodded. He gave a sharp swish and flick as he said the incantation. "Wingardum Levosa."

"Hang on right there. I know why you're having trouble." Terry's eyes brightened up as if a light had got off in his head. "You're saying Wingardum Levosa. You're forgetting both of the 'i's. It's Win-Gar-Dee-Um Lev-ee-O-sa." Terry said the pronunciation slowly so Anthony could hear it clearly. "Now try it with the wand movements."

"_Wingardium Leviosa_." Anthony spoke with the swish and flick movements he had learned back at the beginning of the year. To say he was surprised when the parchment actually lifted off the table, would be an understatement. He was so proud of himself. He had done it. He had overcome the hurtle that had been plaguing him. The same hurtle which had him scared to call himself a Ravenclaw. "I-I did it." His voice gave away the shock he had felt with he saw the paper rise.

"You did and I'm proud of you." Terry smiled at Anthony and gave him a hearty pat on the back. "You asked for help when you needed it most. A lot of Ravenclaws are too afraid to do that for the fears you were feeling yourself." The two boys sat in silence for the time being as they began working on their studying for the examinations. After a good half hour, Terry spoke up again. "Were there any other charms you needed help with, Tone?"

Anthony looked up from his History of Magic book to stare at Terry. There hadn't been much else he was struggling with, but the thought of Terry willing to help him was nice. The little crush he had didn't hurt as well. "Well, maybe the fire-making charm…" Anthony knew the charm as well as the incantation, but maybe – just maybe – the mispronunciation of the incantation would bring them closer together once more.

"The fire-making charm – also known as _Incendio_ – is used to create a fire. Unlike most charms, the wand movement isn't as difficult to master…" Anthony listened to Terry speak all about the creation and development of the _Incendio_ Charm as he floated high up to cloud nine.

"Can I try it, Terry?" Anthony asked. He may have fallen in love with Terry's voice, but listening to all the history of the charm got somewhat boring. It was easier when he actually didn't know what he was doing wrong.

Terry smiled at Anthony and nodded. "Sure. But are you positive you're ready? I mean, I can go over the pronunciation a few more times or even the wand movements." Terry's worry shined in his bright hazel eyes as he watched Anthony. "If you're really not ready, Tony there's no need in rushing these things. They take time." Oh the double meanings behind Terry's words. Anthony caught every one of them, only he doubted that Terry meant to make them.

"N-no, I'm sure."

"Great. So then show me."

"Right." Anthony looked down at his wand and then up at the beaming Terry. A shy smile came forth before he picked his wand back up after dropping it in his surprised success. "Ahem… Incendo."

"Um… Tone. You didn't pronounce right. Plus, I don't think we should cast fire to the library. Madame Pince might not like it."

"Oh… right. Well, maybe we can practice it outside."

Terry slowly began nodding before he shook his head. "Why don't we work on it another day. Right now, just learn the incantation. It's In-Sen-Dee-Oh."

"In… sen… dee… oh." Anthony said softly and slowly, making it look like he needed to actually hear the syllables to understand it.

"Great. Why don't we meet outside tomorrow after classes? Then we can try it out, kay?"

Anthony just nodded as he watched Terry gather up his things before leaving Anthony alone in the Library. He wondered if he'd ever get the courage up to tell Terry that he might just like him more than a friend. That he wouldn't mind kissing one of his best friends.

**Author's Note: Well, the prompts I chose to use for this were love; without; first; joke; and year. I think I used them all. Though, I didn't outright use two, I did try to insinuate that it was their first year and thus so, didn't want to get too involved with the love stuff. Especially for an 11-year-old. Anyways, I hope I portrayed them as well as possible. –shrugs- Lemme know if you liked or hated it.**


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